New Home Office statistics reveal that the majority of people making small boat crossings to seek safety in the UK are from countries which have high grant rates of refugee protection.
94% of people who have made a small boat crossing go on to claim asylum.
The top nationalities of people making small boat crossings include Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria and Iran.
97% of asylum claims made by Afghans are successful, 98% of claims from Syrians are granted, 97% of claims from Eritreans are granted and 85% of applications from Iranians are successful.
Sabir Zazai, Chief Executive, Scottish Refugee Council said: “Today’s statistics expose the UK Government’s misleading narrative around small boat crossings. We know that the vast majority of people who risk their lives by making these dangerous journeys do so to seek safety, and that they have arrived from countries where war, terror and persecution can be a daily reality.
“The UK Government is failing to invest in any safe routes to protection for people fleeing conflict around the globe. The large proportion of people who make these journeys to seek asylum must be a wake up call – we urgently need more safe routes to sanctuary.
“It is striking that over 2,000 Afghans have sought safety here by making a small boat crossing from January to June 2022. This is a damning indictment of how ineffective and dormant the UK Government’s safe routes for Afghans are. Government ministers paid lip service to protecting the people of Afghanistan, but over a year on from the fall of Kabul, there is no fully functioning resettlement programme to bring women, girls and families to safety in the UK. More and more Afghans are being forced to risk their lives on these perilous journeys because of UK Government inaction.
“Despite what the UK Government says, there simply is no illegal way to seek asylum. The UN Refugee Convention recognises that arriving in a country however you possibly can to seek protection is the only option for many people who have been forced to flee their homes.”
Statistics also revealed the top ten nationalities of people seeking protection in the UK
- Iran
- Albania
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Eritrea
- Syria
- Sudan
- Bangladesh
- India
- Pakistan
In the year ending June 2022, there were 63,089 asylum applications. 14,706 initial decisions were made on asylum claims and 76% of these decisions were positive decisions resulting in grants of protection.
In the same year, 66% of appeals of Home Office decisions on asylum were overturned to lead to a grant of protection.
Full immigration and asylum statistics can be found on the Home Office website.
